After more than four centuries of displacement, the descendants of the Lenape people are seeking to reaffirm their connection to their ancestral homeland, Lenapehoking, an area encompassing parts of present-day New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The Lenape were among the first Indigenous nations to enter into treaties with the newly formed United States but were repeatedly uprooted due to broken agreements, federal policies, and westward expansion.
The initial forced departure began in 1626, marked by the infamous, often-misunderstood sale of Manhattan to Dutch settlers, an event symbolizing early colonial encroachment. Over subsequent generations, the Lenape were pushed westward, ultimately resettling in what is now Oklahoma. For approximately 150 years, the Lenape have lived alongside nearly 40 other federally recognized tribes in that region, often on land originally designated for other Native nations.
Today, the Delaware Tribe of Indians, based largely around Bartlesville, Oklahoma, remains one of the primary federally recognized Lenape communities. Bartlesville, named after Jacob H. Bartles who married into the Lenape community in the late 19th century, hosts about 5,000 tribal members within a population of nearly 40,000. Despite historical adversity and present economic challenges—Native Americans in Oklahoma face a poverty rate almost double that of white residents—the tribe maintains cultural institutions including a tribal government, food pantry, child education center, and tradition-rich events such as stomp dances and powwows.
Economic opportunities remain limited compared to neighboring tribes, with the Delaware Tribe operating enterprises such as Teton Trade Cloth, a native-style textile company based in Bartlesville that the tribe acquired following controversy and financial difficulties. Outside economic ventures includes a retreat ranch north of the city, emphasizing both cultural preservation and economic sustainability.
While many in Oklahoma view their present home as primary, other Lenape, such as Curtis Zunigha, former chief of the Delaware, maintain a profound spiritual and cultural attachment to Lenapehoking. Zunigha has spent significant time in the East, particularly in Kingston, New York, where he has worked to revitalize Lenape cultural practices including seed cultivation. He emphasizes the personal reckoning with generational trauma caused by federal Indian boarding schools, as well as the enduring connection to the land where his ancestors lived.
Efforts to re-establish a tangible presence in the East face complex challenges, including overlapping claims from other Lenape-descendant groups holding state, rather than federal, recognition. Nonetheless, the Delaware Tribe of Indians has initiated a repatriation project to recover and reinter ancestral remains and funerary objects held by universities and museums, such as Seton Hall and Rutgers. Since 2022, over 300 ancestors and thousands of sacred items have been returned to Lenapehoking soil on donated land in Pennsylvania. However, officials caution that these burial sites are kept confidential due to risk of desecration.
As space for reburials diminishes, tribal leaders express frustration over the many relatives still held far from home. For them, burial outside the original territory is inconceivable; Lenapehoking remains the true home of their ancestors.
Cultural revitalization continues through educational initiatives and ceremonies. In Upper Manhattan’s Inwood Hill Park, Zunigha recently led a tobacco ceremony and agricultural demonstration for local park rangers. Teaching traditional crop planting methods serves to honor Lenape heritage and fosters greater public understanding of Indigenous history and stewardship of the land.
“There is a complicated legacy here, but also resilience,” Zunigha said. “I am the grandchild my ancestors prayed for, and we have survived.” Through pilgrimages, repatriation, and cultural engagement, the Lenape pursue both memory and renewal rooted in the land they call home.